Seekers Come In Threes
by LittleMewLugia
Summary: When Sam is injured and remodelled, he is not the only one to be changed.
1. Chapter 1

Seekers Come In Threes.

Summary: When Sam is injured and remodelled, he is not the only one to be changed.

Rating: M for violence and mention of bodily fluids.

Continuity: Movieverse.

Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Hasbro and Dreamworks/Paramount, not me (for which I imagine the TF's are eternally grateful!)

A/N: This idea was sparked by a comment by Anne Clothier. Thanks!

Seekers come in Threes.

Sam's first introduction to Skywarp occurred when he was in his back yard putting out the trash: the Seeker popped into existence above him, scooped him up in one metal hand and popped out of existence again even as Sam screamed. When Bumblebee, (who had begun transforming the moment he saw the Seeker's shadow fall over the house) got there, there was no Seeker, but most importantly, no Sam, just the trash bins, both on their sides, the contents spilling and being blown everywhere.

At about the time Bumblebee was looking about the yard, two kilometers away, Skywarp was stood at Starscream's door at the Decepticon Base, Sam clutched in one hand. As Starscream allowed the door to open, Skywarp strode in, and held out the fisted hand with Sam trapped in the middle towards Starscream triumphantly. Starscream looked at the fist, the feet sticking out of the bottom, the tops of Sam's shoulders and his pale, sweating, grimacing face and said "Skywarp! Loosen your grip a little before you crush him!"

As the other Seeker complied, Sam's face lost its pained look but didn't regain colour or lose the fearful look. Starscream stepped forwards and put his hands out; Skywarp obeyed the unspoken command, dropping Sam into them. Starscream drew the hands close to his face, studying the sprawled human lying in them intently.

"Good work, Skywarp, good initiative!" Starscream crowed. "We may be able to use this one, give him to Barricade to play with a little, but tell them he must be allowed to live and not be too badly damaged. We may have use of you, fleshling worm, but I will not deny my mechs their fun. Your life is dependant on my ploy succeeding, so you should pray it works, or Barricade may find he's permitted to deal with you any way he wishes."

"Oh shit." Sam said as Starscream closed his fingers gently about him and drew his hand back and down.

"At least_ I_ can have a bit of fun first." Starscream said. "Ever wondered what it's like to fly, human? Skywarp, catch!"

Sam shrieked as Starscream brought his arm forward again and opened his fingers, throwing Sam underhanded up and out, legs and arms pinwheeling madly.

He felt himself caught by Skywarp, the slap of his body against metal winded him and he groaned as pain in his chest made him suspect a snapped rib. Skywarp lifted him by one leg to optic level, Sam flailed upside down in a panic.

"Heh, time for groundling play time now, maybe we'll get another go with you afterwards." he said.

Still holding Sam upside-down, the Seeker turned and left Starscream's quarters.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

If Sam had thought things couldn't get any worse, he soon found out how wrong he was. When Skywarp took him to Barricade, the black and white Decepticon took great pleasure in calling in two playmates to help him torment Sam. One of them was purple and grey and called Payload, and had an extendable grab on an arm in the middle of his chest, the other was blue and silver and was called Dropkick. Both gave Sam a look he didn't like when Barricade held him up, and both gave evil smiles when Barricade explained he was theirs to play with as long as he wasn't seriously hurt.

After being thrown, squeezed, and flicked around for a bit, Sam passed out. Their answer to that was to half-drown him with a torrent of water. As he coughed and spluttered back to consciousness, he was thrown and caught again, dropped and then jerked to a halt inches from the ground, poked and shoved around by sharp metal fingers, prodded and poked so hard that sometimes blood was drawn.

Barricade seemed to enjoy tormenting Sam by throwing him in the air and catching him again, Payload seemed to delight in letting Sam try to run away and then grabbing him with his extensible arm, pulling the human back so sharply that Sam was sure he'd end up with whiplash injuries to his neck. Dropkick seemed to like grabbing him in his hand so tightly he could not even squirm, and sometimes was unable to breathe, and at times he felt as if he would die, but Dropkick always seemed to know to let go before he passed out from lack of air, but it still hurt.

It wasn't just his lungs either: Dropkick's squeezes had left Sam with a suspected broken arm on one side (both upper and lower), more cracked ribs (number unknown) and a throbbing searing pain in his upper leg on his other side that made him wonder if his upper leg was broken too.

He was beginning to wonder how far they would be permitted to go as Dropkick once again dropped him, wheezing for breath after a squeeze, to the ground. As he opened his eyes, a pair of feet, Seeker feet, stopped in front of him, and he heard a voice say "You were told not to damage him too severely! Permanent disablement or death is counterproductive to our plans!"

He felt Seeker hands pick him up with an odd tenderness, and Sam relished the gentle touch in spite of the fact that it was Starscream who was holding him, and he lay there curled up in Starscream's warm palm, regaining his breath, as the Decepticon leader looked at him.

"I think he's not too badly damaged, luckily for _you_, you should know not to get carried away. I shall put him in a cell with some fluids, he is not to be disturbed till the morning, maybe a sleep will do him good. I can contact the Autobots in the morning about exchanging him for some fuel."

Starscream thought nothing of the brief tingle that originated in his palm and briefly ran over his body, not associating the sensation with the curled-up squishy in his hand.

However, inside Sam Witwicky, something had begun to rouse.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Starscream considered putting Sam in the coldest and smallest cell of the Base, after all, apart from some superficial scratches and the broken parts of his endoskeleton, which the Internet told him could be immobilised by his own kind to self-repair over a few weeks, he appeared unharmed. However, he wanted to be sure that Sam would _stay_ that way, so he put him in one of the bigger cells - a locked room which was at a temperature humans considered comfortable. He was confident that Sam would not be able to escape from the cell, the lock was designed to confound Autobots, a _human_ should not be able to escape.

He put the small fleshling down carefully, and backed out. He didn't need to be chained or manacled, although those could be put on for effect tomorrow for when they contacted the Autobots. Barricade brought a water container the human could drink from if he needed, putting it beside him, and Skywarp and Barricade watched as Starscream entered the seventeen-digit combination to lock the door.

"In the morning we bring him to the communications hub and show him to the Autobots. We can promise them that no further harm will come to him provided that they accede to our demands. For tonight, we let him rest and recover, any bruising should be well coloured up by then, but we want no further harm to come to him."

As Starscream turned aside, he felt moistness on his palm, looking down, he saw a small blob of red and clear fluid. It must have leaked from the Witwicky fleshy. His head had been in that location, it must have come from his ear or his nose. Disgusted, he wiped it away and headed back for his room with Skywarp, as Barricade headed off to get more fuel from the Police pound.

OOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Sam was mainly aware that he was lying on his side in a room, and that he was in a lot of pain. It was neither hot nor cold. His broken limbs ached, his chest ached and his stomach and head ached too. There was pain in his whiplashed neck, too, pain that had spread into his head, which was throbbing. His stomach felt oddly full, despite the fact that he had voided his stomach contents within five minutes of being handed to Barricade. His bladder felt uncomfortably full too, and a few minutes later his bladder opened, the contents thicker than standard urine and a cloudy red-orange colour. Sam was unaware of this, for his consciousness was fading rapidly. As he shifted his head, another drop of blood-tinged cerebrospinal fluid dripped from his ear.

The Essence within him detected the deterioration of his vital functions, and realised that action was necessary. It had a pattern for the boy, it had taken that from the Seeker who had carried him. However, Seekers always came in threes, were Sparked in triad, they came in pre-formed trines, it was how they learned to function in a flying wing. The boy would need trine-mates, and the pool available to the Essence was limited. They would need to have touched its old vessel at least once, for it to have a connection, a link to them, and preferably be known to him already, as he would not have a Sparklinghood to learn to interact with them. Of the first, there were roughly three hundred and fifty individuals. Of the second, there were only four, and fortunately, of those four, it found two compatibles.

The boy's transition would take longer, as it was not just reconfiguration but repair that was needed, but the other two should not take too long to change.

As Sam's body began to crackle with AllSpark energy, the Essence reached out to the two, sent energy down the link, and started to change them too.


	2. Chapter 2

Seekers Always Come In Threes.

Chapter Two.

A/N: The theory of preset Trines is nether canon nor fanon, but my own idea entirely. Dawnstreaker is the OC of KDZeal of the Nerdene Hyrde, thanks to him for her loan for this story. KDZeal also beta-read this chapter for me and saved me from a few embarassing errors.

After he had ascertained that Sam was nowhere in the immediate area, Bumblebee had contacted the Base once he had got his panic under control.

"Sam has been taken, I'm sure it's by Skywarp. Request permission to fetch Mikaela and bring her to safety under the force-field," he said.

"Affirmative," Optimus replied. "Ironhide is going to fetch Epps, Will, Sarah and Annabelle and bring them here. Mirage is trying to call the Decepticon base but they are not responding to our calls."

Bumblebee had laid rubber on the road to get to Mikaela's, calling her on her cell phone to tell her to grab an overnight bag and wait for him, but to stay inside in a small room until he arrived to be safe. He briefly explained what had happened, and told her to run from her house to him as fast as she could, to stay out of the open as much as possible.

When he got to her house he tooted his horn, and she came flying out as he opened his door. She threw herself into his driver's seat, throwing her overnight bag in the passenger seat, and Bumblebee closed the door as she put the seat belt on. Bumblebee took off again, heading for the Autobot base as fast as the speed limit would allow.

Once he had taken her there he transformed to robot form, picked her up in his hands, and went to give his detailed report to Optimus in his office. Fifteen minutes after that, Ironhide came in with Epps, Will Lennox, and Sarah and Annabelle, the wife and daughter of the military captain. Accompanying them was Dawnstreaker, one of the Autobot Seeker trine who had arrived a few weeks previously. She had befriended Sergeant Epps in much the same way as Ironhide had befriended Will, but unlike Ironhide, she could not sit outside his house, as not many people in Epps' neighbourhood had private jets parked in their drives.

"Mirage reports that there is still no response from the Decepticon base to his attempts at communication, a silence that itself is suspicious, in his opinion and in mine," she said. She herself had a communications specialisation, and Optimus nodded: they would have to wait for the Decepticons themselves to make contact on this matter, or hope someone answered.

"Get him to put a message on a coded loop, asking them to make contact as soon as they get the message," he stated. "Mirage and Cliffjumper should ready themselves for a scouting mission to the Decepticon base, their mission will be to try to locate Sam, and rescue him if safe and practicable. Send them to me at the end of their duty shift so that Bumblebee and I can brief them on what we know."

Bumblebee put Mikaela down on Optimus' desk, where she found one of the human-sized chairs put on there for that purpose, and sat in one. Ironhide and Dawnstreaker lifted up the other humans, who found similar chairs and did likewise.

As Bumblebee filled in Optimus on a few details omitted in his earlier report, Mikaela listened too. It was as he came to the end of his report that she felt a warm flush wash over her. It didn't feel at all natural, and she jumped to her feet as she felt it spread throughout her body, and she heard a surprised warble from Bumblebee. Looking over at him, she saw him standing in a pose suggesting he had been startled, arms out, optics wide, and as she watched he was outlined by a blue glow, and blue light began to sparkle all over his body.

She tried to move, to speak, but found herself unable to. As an icy hand of fear clutched at her heart, she felt something about the heat in her body shift, and the fear was gone as quickly as it had arrived. She felt at peace, somehow knowing that whatever this was would not be harmful to her, was necessary for something, and that there was no need for her to fear. She smiled, saw Bumblebee looking at her. He, it seemed, had not lost the power of speech, for she heard him speak.

"AllSpark?" she heard him ask before her eyes hazed over with a blue-white glow, and her consciousness was swallowed by darkness, but a darkness that felt comforting and safe, not cold and dangerous.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

As both Mikaela and Bumblebee collapsed, Optimus and Dawnstreaker reacted, the former catching Mikaela as she toppled from the desk, the latter catching the scout and lowering him to the ground. Nothing more happened with Optimus, but Dawnstreaker was haloed briefly with the same light and sparkles that now almost obscured the forms of Bumblebee and Mikaela.

Optimus recognised the light as AllSpark energy, and he was certain that the AllSpark Essence would not seek to harm the human and the scout, although whether its, his, and their definition of 'harm' tallied was a different matter. He lay Mikaela on the floor as the light shroud around she and Bumblebee intensified: Dawnstreaker settled Bumblebee on his front and stepped away.

Optimus always wondered afterwards if she somehow knew, not consciously, for when asked she had replied in the negative, but unconsciously, what was going on. She had barely stepped back when the glow around Bumblebee and the human intensified and widened, stretching out further than Bumblebee's length or width, and far more than Mikaela's.

Both were now invisible beneath a pulsing hemisphere of blue-white light. Epps, Will and Sarah stated later that the eeriest thing about the whole episode was that there was no snapping and crackling as there might have been with electrical energy, but only silence. No crackling, no cries, no sound at all bar the breathing of the humans, Annabelle's muffled question - "What's happening, Mummy?" - and the sound of Autobot vents clicking anxiously.

It was several minutes later that the light shrouds receded and faded, leaving the humans and Autobots staring at what had been left in its wake.

One was bright yellow with black stripes on its wings and tailfins, the other was denim-blue with pastel pink stripes, but they were both undeniably Cybertronian, both undeniably Seekers.

"Bumblebee? Mikaela?" Optimus asked quietly. They both stirred on the ground where they lay, groaning and sighing through their vents.

"Where's the other one?" asked Dawnstreaker, "There are supposed to be three."

"What do you mean?" Optimus asked her.

"When Seekers are Sparked, there are _always_ three of them," Dawnstreaker explained. "Seekers have a pre-set Trine, although the bonds can be dissolved as needed later on. There are two of them here, but there should be another. Where is the other one? Where is the third trine-member?"

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

When Sam reached full awareness again, the pain had gone. He was no longer on his side, but on his back, and for some reason that made him feel nervous. Trying to roll onto his side was fruitless, but after a few attempts, he found he was able to push himself upright into a seated position.

He stared at his feet, which were quite different from what he had expected. Pale blue, they were composed of metal, and the metal toes appeared to be prehensile. They were attached to legs that combined pale and darker blue, and had more joints than he was familiar with. Stretching out his hand, he found it had three fingers and two thumbs (_two_ thumbs! he wondered) one either side of the hand, and missile launchers under his wrist. The arm was also metal, angular, and long, very long. Reaching his hands up, he felt a rounded helm with a pair of sensor ridges arching over them, felt wings where his shoulders attached, felt something that felt like thin metal wings between his shoulder blades. Examining his front, he found himself looking at metal and wiring, support struts and -whatinhell? A _cockpit canopy_?

Sam came to a realisation that he looked like a blue version of Starscream just as he heard the keys of the combination lock to his cell being pressed in sequence. He turned his optics to watch the door as it beeped and began to open.

Somebody was coming in…


	3. Chapter 3

Seekers Come In Threes.

Chapter Three.

Sam blinked as the door opened fully. It was dark outside and all he could see was three menacing-looking forms, darker patches of blackness again the slightly lighter sky. He wasn't sure how it happened, had to assume it was an automatic adjustment by his new optics to the lack of light, but his vision flickered a bit and he could see them more clearly, although the light level did not change.

"I know Starscream said he should not be disturbed until morning, but I want to have some more fun with this one," Barricade said. "I don't take orders from that jumped-up usurper unless it suits me to do so, and this is one of the occasions it does not suit me to."

Barricade was standing with his back to Sam, so had not noticed his new form and size. It must have been something about the looks on Dropkick's and Payload's faces that must have clued him in that something was up, for he turned. He stared for an astrosecond, then grinned unpleasantly.

"Well, it looks as if we can't have the sort of fun we anticipated with you Sam - it is still Sam isn't it, not some sort of imposter?" he asked.

"Uh…yeah, I'm Sam." he said. He wondered if his change of form might spare him from being tormented by the three any more.

"What happened to you?" asked Dropkick. "You were a human!"

"I dunno." Sam said. "It just happened."

"Who cares?" Barricade asked. "Starscream and his wing brothers have left the Base for a flight, he's still here, it's of no consequence that he's in a Cybertronian body." Barricade lunged forwards, his claws catching on one of Sam's sensitive wings, he cried out as he felt them sink in.

"I never did like Seekers, and this one is an Autobot. New body or not, he still killed Megatron and destroyed the AllSpark. We can still try him and punish him for his crimes." As Barricade gave Sam's wing a vicious yank and he felt the metal tear, he toppled forwards. He felt the other two also seize hold of him none too gently. "Stand, or we drag you." Barricade ordered, pushing upwards on one shoulder. How he was do this when he'd only just gained his body, Sam did not know, but he did try, and ended up managing a strange crawl on hands and feet, shuffle-hopping along as he was pulled about by the three.

'_Oh Bee, I wish you were here, I could really use some help right now!' _Sam thought desperately. _'If ever I needed a guardian, I think it's now!'_

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

As the two new Seekers rebooted fully, Optimus and Dawnstreaker moved to assist them, Dawnstreaker helping Mikaela sit up, Optimus helping the Autobot scout.

Bumblebee had the standard Seeker frame, Mikaela, like Dawnstreaker, was the less bulky femme version, but still obviously of the same basic form. Her optics shuttered and unshuttered rapidly in confusion, as she raised her hand to her head. It stopped as she encountered the metal, and she drew her hand down her face. She

pulled her hand away, looked at it, then turned to look at the others, her optics taking in Bumblebee's altered form. She inhaled and then exhaled through her vents.

"Okay," she said, and although a little different, her voice was still obviously that of Mikaela. "Can somebody explain just what the _fuck _is going on?"

"I do not know how or why, but it appears that you and Bumblebee have been reformatted into Seeker-frames," Optimus stated.

"I felt the presence of the AllSpark Essence," Bumblebee said. "I do not know why this has happened, but until we know more, can I suggest we learn to use these new bodies? The AllSpark wouldn't, I believe, do this without reason, so if we are in Seeker-forms, may I suggest we find out how to use them, as I think we may _need_ to."

"If I can figure out how these legs work!" Mikaela said. "How can we learn to _fly _when we can't even _walk_?"

"Prime, Ironhide, could you help Mikaela to her feet? Dawnstreaker asked. "Bumblebee, you watch me walk, Mikaela, try to copy my movements. Once you learn how to use the extra joint, you'll be halfway there, the other half is balance, which _will_ become easier. As to flying, I can download all the theory and a few memories into your processors, enough so that you can at least fly without crashing every few metres. Elegance and finesse will come partly from instinct and partly from practice."

Mikaela circled the room twice with Optimus and Ironhide holding her upright, after that she felt able to just hold onto Optimus, while Ironhide helped Bumblebee to his feet and assisted him. Mikaela was surprised to find that she got the movement and adapted to the extra leg joint quite quickly. Balance, too, came quite quickly, once he learned to adapt to her new top-heavy shape. Within twenty minutes they were both able to walk around the room unsupported, albeit slowly and with less certainty than they had in their original forms.

Although Mikaela seemed to be coping with her change well, Optimus was certain that at some point she would have some sort of reaction: it was easier for Bumblebee, at least he had started out mechanical to begin with, Mikaela had to cope with a greater change, both in size and species.

The two sat once they had learned to walk, and Dawnstreaker shook out her data transfer cable from a wrist.

"I am now going to download pre-flight checks, the theory of flying, and some of my own memories of flight to help you," she said. "I shall also give you knowledge and memories associated with using both melee and ranged weapons, just in case you need to use them." This she did, first with Bumblebee, and then with Mikaela. "Remember, these are your melee weapons." she told them, as she took Mikaela's hands and one of her feet in her own hands, flexing them to erect the claws on the digit tips and on the joints. Mikaela nodded.

"Oh, I've been in enough bitch-fights to know all about scratching and nailing people," she said. "Not toes though, I have to admit that's a new one." She flexed her own toes experimentally again, looking at the two back digits. "Bird-feet, that's gonna take getting used to."

"Okay," Dawnstreaker said, comming Ratchet. "Now you have the knowledge, carry out the pre-flight checks I have downloaded, but leave out fuel capacity until Ratchet has filled your tanks. Pre-flight checks should be performed when coming out of every recharge, and before every flight. It will seem odd at first, but soon it will become as natural to you as the beat of your Sparks."

The two complied in silence, and a few moments later Ratchet came in, tapping Bumblebee's shoulder. The yellow Seeker turned to give the medic access to his fuel tank valve, which Ratchet flipped open with practiced fingers. He inserted a fuelling wand, filling Bumblebee's fuel tank with kerosene, then repeated the procedure on Mikaela.

"There's one thing that's confusing me." Dawnstreaker said. "Somewhere there should be, _must_ be another one of you. I've never heard of any Seeker's being created in groups of less than three. Where's the third member of your trine? You should be able to sense him or her through the bond. You two can sense each other, correct?"

Bumblebee and Mikaela looked at each other, and it was then they realised that yes, they could sense each other, as though some invisible cord connected them. In fact…

"Yes, I can sense connection to _two_ others." Mikaela confirmed. "So somewhere is another person, changed like us?"

"Sam." said Bumblebee. "I don't know why, but I'm _sure_ it's Sam. It would explain why only two of us are here, Sam's at the Decepticon base."

"He must be okay though, or you two would feel his stress or pain." Dawnstreaker said. "The trine-bond can convey feelings, emotions and sensations."

She had barely finished speaking when both Mikaela and Bumblebee stiffened. They both let out cries that sounded frightened, then changed to cries of pain.

"Sam!" Bumblebee cried, "He needs me - needs _us_!" he said, his optics meeting Mikaela's.

"Then let's go find him, and punish those who are hurting him," she said, her voice laced with fear and anger. Together they headed for the door of Optimus' office, their gait unsteady. Optimus move to stop them but Dawnstreaker shook her head.

"They have to go, if you try to stop them they may fight you, the pain of their trine-mate down the bond is compelling. They _have_ to go. We will follow them and give them cover."

Summoning her own trine via the bond she shared with them, and engaging her own pre-flight check subroutine, she exited the office, following the two newest Seekers.


	4. Chapter 4

Seekers Come In Threes.

Chapter Four.

A/N: **Bold type** is databurst speech. Dawnstreaker belongs to KDZeal of the International Nerd Herd (on this site), Runway and Freefall are mine. Thanks to KDZeal for Seeker psychology, needs, and issues.

**Ironhide! Drop the force field and let the two Seekers coming out of the Base go! **Dawnstreaker sent as she raced after the stumbling figures of Bumblebee and Mikaela. Her trine-mates sent an acknowledgement of her earlier summons, to which she sent an automatic thanks, too busy to be more personal about it.

By the time they got out of the Base, Mikaela and Bumblebee were running on about eighty per cent of inbuilt Seeker programming that humans might call 'instinct." The other twenty per cent was the programming Dawnstreaker had downloaded to them, and the combination of the two meant that when they threw themselves into the air they stayed there hovering, still in robot form, rather than crashing messily to the ground.

Belatedly Dawnstreaker realised she had not taught them how to transform: thankful that her data hookup had automatically logged their comm frequencies, she commed them the information of how to transform from one to the other and back again, and could only hope that at least one of them was coherent enough to upload it. It was Bumblebee who flipped into jet mode first, followed by Mikaela exactly forty-three seconds after, telling Dawnstreaker that Bumblebee had used his trine-bond with Mikaela to provide her with the information only he had detected had been sent. She recalled they would need a location too: although the exact location of the Decepticon base was unknown, she was able to databurst the pair an area of about five kilometers square that the Base was likely to be in.

Less than five seconds later, both jets shot off rapidly in the same direction. As Dawnstreaker watched them shoot off, she saw and sensed her other two Trinemates, Runway and Freefall emerge.

**Follow! **she ordered. As she was not just the trine leader but was privy to more information on this situation than they were, they followed her lead as she switched to jet form and went after the two.

She databurst a rundown of the situation to them as they set off in pursuit of Bumblebee and Mikaela.

**Understood.** was their reply. **We only intervene if necessity dictates.**

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Sam was only permitted to stop crawling when he and his captors had reached the centre of the Decepticon Base, which was a big open area of flat and scorched earth that bore witness to many Seeker takeoffs and landings. Ironically, while the Seekers were away, it seemed that this area was to serve as the setting for the kangaroo court Barricade had obviously planned for. A big grey and white tank rolled up and transformed to robot form as Sam watched.

"Uhh, so what now?" Sam asked as Barricade and the others released him and stood in front of him.

"I will be your judge." Barricade told him. "Dropkick and Payload will act as what you humans call a 'jury'. Sam decided not to ask what the tank was, he had a funny feeling that he knew, a feeling confirmed when the tank spoke.

"I am designated Wreckage. I will carry out sentence." Bright pinky-red blades sprang from the tank's wrists. "Energon blades cauterise, but hurt _bad_." he stated.

If Sam had had any doubt about the likely verdict, Wreckage's pronouncement had dispelled it...

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Instinct combined with knowledge was more than enough for the two new Seekers, who headed for the area described. They headed towards it with scanners running. At first they ran the same scans, until Bumblebee realised that the energy expenditure was redundant.

**Mikaela! **Bumblebee said. **You keep scanning for energy signatures, I'll scan for a cluster of Sparks, and we'll combine our results to find him. **

Mikaela sent the blip they both understood as an affirmative, and both scanning for different things, they headed for the area specified in Dawnstreaker's co-ordinates.

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"Okay, so who's speaking in my defence?" Sam asked. "Surely I'm permitted a defence lawyer?"

"Not here, here we practice Cybertronian justice, you must defend yourself," Dropkick stated smugly.

Sam looked at Barricade, trying to hide his fear with a cockiness he did not feel. Surrounded by enemies, in an unfamiliar body he did not know how to use, he felt more vulnerable than he ever had in his life.

"So, if I'm on trial, what are the charges against me?" he asked.

"The murder of Megatron, and the destruction of the AllSpark, which pretty much dooms our race to extinction, so murder and genocide, fleshling, that is what you stand accused of," Barricade said.

Sam began to panic a bit. He had guessed this 'court' might be rigged, but not how valid the charges might be.

"I…I was trying to defend myself. Megatron was trying to kill me and I didn't know that the AllSpark was the only way your kind reproduced, I didn't realise!"

"Did you put the cube in Megatron's chest, hoping to destroy him?" Barricade asked.

"Y-yes, Optimus had said he'd sacrifice himself, I didn't want Optimus to die, so I put it in Megatron's chest instead." Sam babbled. "It was self-defence!"

"You _admit_ you did it?" Barricade demanded, then before Sam could answer declared "Well, there you have it, you admitted it from your own processor, plus the other charge, that of being a Seeker, well, there is _no_ way you can deny that!"

"Hey, hey, hey," Sam said, "but…no, no, no, this cannot be happening! If I hadn't done it, Megatron would've _killed _me, it was self defence!"

"Oh no it wasn't, not from what _I_ heard." Barricade said nastily.

"What…what do you mean?" Sam asked nervously. "He said he'd _kill_ me, I had to defend myself."

"Ah, but earlier he suggested that if you gave him the Cube he would let you live as his pet." Barricade said.

"He…he did, but he said 'might', not 'would.' Sam said weakly.

"He phrased it that way to make it an offer. Had you done so, he would have taken it as acceptance, and he would have kept you well enough, he was a mech of his word," Barricade stated.

"I…I didn't know, just as I did not know that pushing the AllSpark into his chest would stop your kind reproducing, I only found that out later!" Sam protested.

"Ignorance is no defence!" sneered Dropkick.

"So, the jury's verdict on the case? First offence: the murder of Cybertron's Lord High Protector?" Barricade stated.

"Guilty from his own vocal processor." said Dropkick.

"Guilty." echoed Payload.

"Hey! What about my statement in my defence?" Sam asked.

Barricade glared at the pale blue Seeker.

"You have given it already, and condemned yourself with it. Silence, or else by your human standards you will be 'in contempt of court' and you should not be trying to accumulate crimes."

Sam subsided: he had known from the beginning it would be biased, he supposed, so why was he protesting, he wondered?

"Second charge of delayed genocide?" Barricade continued.

"Again, guilty," Dropkick said, echoed by Payload.

"Third charge, becoming one of those arrogant Seekers."

"Even _he_ cannot deny that, the evidence is in front of all our optics!" Payload said.

"Guilty, guilty and guilty again!" Dropkick cried.

"HEY!" Sam said, futile as it was. Barricade turned to glare at him briefly, than looked back at the others.

"So, what should his sentence be?" asked Barricade.

"Death!" stated Dropkick.

"Have him tortured first!" Payload said.

"As it happens, there is something we can do to him that takes in both of those possibilities," Barricade said. Panic began to rise in Sam, and he somehow got to his feet, but he found the joint arrangement awkward: he fell over his own feet as Dropkick and Payload sprang for him, grabbing his arms and holding him on his back on the ground. He felt pain and metal bend as he was forced back, the thin metal...his tailfins? - being pushed against the dirt.

Barricade moved forwards and put hydraulic hands around his ankles, pinioning his lower body to the floor.

"Have you ever heard of 'grounding' Sam, and what it does to Seekers?"

"Uhh…no." Sam said, truthfully enough.

"Grounding is when Seekers are denied the sky. Grounding can be temporary or permanent, and ranges from being tethered or locked up, right through to the wings being destroyed, by being shredded or removed, dismantled or damaged beyond repair. The thing is, Seekers _need_ the sky, to fly, to keep sane: I have witnessed more than one Seeker lose their mind, lose their sanity, lose _themselves_ out of need for the sky. Some permanently grounded seekers, or those grounded temporarily but for too long, kill themselves if they can, or have others kill them. I have heard it said that such a killing is truly a mercy, to kill them rather than force them to live without the air, unable to fly. It is, Sam, a mercy that will not be extended to _you_: this shall be your punishment."

He looked briefly to the two others. "Hold him, pull his arms taut." Sam felt the strain on his arms as Payload and Dropkick obeyed: he tried to kick but Barricade was holding his legs in a firm grip, he was on his back and helpless, immobilised by the three mechs.

Barricade turned to look and nod at at the tank-mech, which raised its energon blades in acknowledgement.

"Okay, Wreckage, sentence has been passed, you will carry it out." He turned to Sam with a triumphant look on his face before looking at the tank again.

"Do it Wreckage! _Take his wings_!"


	5. Chapter 5

Seekers Come In Threes.

Chapter Five.

A/N: Dedicated to Loki of the Nerdene Hyrde, the terror of Seekers in TF-Hyrdeverse.

**Mikaela! I'm picking up a concentration of Spark-signatures! **Bumblebee commed to databurst a set of co-ordinates to his trine mate, and together they veered towards the location of the concentration. The link-borne pain had thankfully subsided after the initial spike, leaving behind the fear, but that fear was growing in intensity. Both of the new Seekers were tense, all that could mean is that Sam was under threat somehow, and that threat was likely to involve the Decepticons.

Suddenly, Mikaela wavered in the air and screeched as a new wave of pain flooded the trine-link. This was different to the first pain, more raw, far more intense, and almost overwhelming. She looked over at Bumblebee in alarm as his link to her pulsed with fear, and saw him just manage to avoid crashing into the ground. Again, the combination of instinct plus data came into play, as they both hit their afterburners, speeding towards their destination, gritting their dentaplates against the pain that hammered at them through the link, and hoping that they were not too late.

Behind them, Dawnstreaker's trine noticed the course change, erratic flight, and burst of speed, and engaged their own afterburners, following in their wake.

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As the heavyweight Wreckage stepped forwards, Sam spoke up.

"W-wait, _wait_! Don't I get a chance to appeal against my sentence, or ask for any last requests?"

"No appeals, no reprieves. Guilt must be punished. You can make your last request after your punishment has been carried out. You won't die or even lose your sanity for some time yet. Wreckage, continue!" Barricade ordered. "In fact, leave him his wings for a few more minutes, I want a souvenir." He shifted his weight, locking his legs around Sam's to keep him immobilised as he lifted one clawed hand, forefinger extended, and tapped Sam's canopy glass. "Take this first, it can go on my wall." Then he replaced his hand on Sam's ankles.

The grey bulk loomed over Sam, grabbing the canopy edge and roughly pulling it open. Wreckage brought the glowing blade on his other arm down, and Sam screamed as he felt it cut viciously through the hinges on the top edge of the canopy. His vision flickered with the sheer agony of it, and he saw Wreckage lift the canopy to show Barricade, who nodded approvingly.

"Put it to one side, Wreckage, I'll take it to my quarters after we are done here." Barricade said. "Now, carry out his sentence." He gave a cruel laugh. "Turn him on his front afterwards, and take the tail-fins from his back as well. Make certain that the new Seeker will _never_ taste the sky."

Wreckage stepped forward, and Sam tried to shy back although he was already pressed as far into the ground as he would go. The grey and white tank crouched, putting the edge of his blade against the top edge of Sam's wing and began to draw it down, the sounds of tortured metal mixing with the laughter of Sam's captors, and Sam's own screams. Nothing else was audible above this racket, which is probably the reason that the first sign that the five were no longer alone was when Wreckage went sprawling back as a yellow and black blur hammered into his chest.

Heavy as the tank was, Bumblebee was fuelled by fury and travelling at speed so had considerable momentum, enough to throw the heavy mech onto his back. His clawed fingers were slahjing and rending at Wreckage#'s seams, trying to find an unprotected area on the armoured mech. Before any of the others could react to the unexpected attack, Mikaela was upon Payload, slashing with one hand, using her arm cannon on the other as a bludgeon, going for Payload's optics and by pure luck, her flailing feet gashed Dropkick's face, making him cry out and release Sam's arm, even as Payload released Sam's other arm.

Barricade leaped to his feet, and sent out a general comm. **We are under attack, all Decepticons in range, mobilise and repel these attackers!** Of course in doing this he released Sam's legs, and Sam took advantage of this to pull himself over on to his front, despite his damaged wing, and get to all fours. He scrambled away from his tormentors, but then felt two sets of hands grab him, one set round his waist, the other on his uninjured wing and arm. He cried out and struggled as he felt himself rise into the air.

"Stop that! We're friends, you're hurt and on the ground is no place for _any_ Seeker in a fight, injured or otherwise!" Dawnstreaker said. She and Freefall the other one lifting him, took him up to the roof of the main hangar used as quarters for Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker, and placed him on it. As the other Decepticons on the Base came out in response to Barricade's comm, Dawnstreaker leaped into the air and zoomed down to rejoin the fight.

"Bumblebee, get airborne, Seekers are at a disadvantage in ground combat. Mikaela, look out behind you, I don't think either of those two you've blinded will be a threat now, but those others _are_!" Sam heard her call out. Bumblebee and Mikaela were here? Why was she telling Bumblebee to get airborne? whyy was Mikaela here, humans were at a disadvantage against viciuous Decepticons. He tried to crawl over to look, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

He looked up to see the Seeker who had stayed with him, the blue and white mech, shake his head at him. He then went back to unsubspacing several pieces of metal and tubes of sealant, and Sam noticed that his disconnected canopy had been brought up too.

"I'm Freefall, I'm a medic, and this is just a patch job," he said as he put sealant all around the edge of the canopy lid. He looked at Sam a moment, then pulled a piece of plating back, sticking his hand in. It was uncomfortable at first, but then Sam felt the pain from his wing and canopy hinges fade.

"I can't remove the pain entirely, not without taking your entire exoskeletal sensor-net offline, which would be unwise, but that should make the pain more tolerable." he said. He picked up the canopy and pressed it back into place with a gentle hand, holding it until he was sure the sealant had bonded the edges, then took a curved piece of plate metal, putting sealant over that as well, and sliding it over the incision Wreckage had made in the top of his wing.

"There, that should hold up for a while till I can get you to our medbay and Ratchet and I can fix you up as good as new." Freefall said amiably. "Until then, wait here, I don't send people with patch repairs into battle unless it's absolutely necessary. A necessary situation has not arisen yet in my lifetime, and I have lived a _very_ long time. Wait here!" With that he dived off the edge of the roof, presumably to rejoin the fight. Sam crawled over to the edge of the roof, after all he had not been forbidden to _look_.

Dropkick and Payload had both curled into protective balls of spiky armour, both appeared to be clutching at their optics, neither were a threat and thus they were no longer under attack. Barricade was being buzzed by a yellow and black Seeker Sam had never seen before, as an unknown femme and Dawnstreaker dipped and wove around each other as they dived in to attack Wreckage, who was swinging his energon blades about dangerously.

Freefall, Sam noticed, was engaged in battle with a red mono-opticked mech: as he watched, Freefall grabbed at the mech's eye/neck stalk and flipped open a bottom neck panel, made a grab and twist motion: the red mech went limp and fell jointlessly to the ground. Sam realised that freefal mus have worked out how to either offline him totally or disable his servos. There were advantages to being a medic in battle, Sam supposed, including (but not limited to) being able to disable some opponents without actually harming them. The third member of Dawnstreaker's trine - Runway, he thought the dark green and yellow mech was called - was attempting to hit a highly manoeuvrable giant metal scorpion: its agility was giving Runway problems.

Watching the fight unfold, Sam felt some sort of connection with the two unknown Seekers, and mentally reaching along this unknown connection, Sam suddenly realised that the yellow Seeker mech was Bumblebee, who had kept his racing stripes, albeit in a different configuration, and the femme…the femme was _Mikaela_! As he watched her twist to avoid one of Wreckage's blades, he admired her agility, then tried to get to his feet. He had felt those blades against his own hide, and didn't want to see them sear hers, dreaded a lucky swing could send her tumbling to the ground, unable to fly. No matter what Freefall had said, he could _not_ stay out of this battle!

As he swayed and fell again, he heard a bang and felt the passage of displaced air. None of the others seemed to notice: they were too involved with fighting their opponents. So it was only Sam who looked up to see Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker all clinging to each other, having clustered together about Skywarp to expedite swift transportation, only Sam who saw them separate into a battle-ready formation. Sam's optics caught Starscream's, the Decepticon leader's optics widened as he took in the scene. Sam wasn't sure _how_, but he had the feeling the Decepticon leader recognised him, _knew_ who he was.

The first the Autobot fliers and the Decepticon grounders knew of Starscream's presence was when he let loose with a processor- rattling sonic screech. Nobody could miss it, and it stopped the fight in it's tracks as every optic (except the two curled-up grounders') turned to look at the source. Silence fell in the place of the noise.

Once he was sure he had everybody's attention, Starscream spoke again.

"What is the meaning of this? Will somebody please inform me just _what_ in the name of PIT is going on here?"


	6. Chapter 6

Seekers Come In Threes.

Chapter Six.

"Lord Starscream, we were going about our ordinary business when these Autobots attacked us without provocation," Barricade stated in answer to Starscream's query. "We, of course, turned out to defend the Base."

"Unprovoked attack, Barricade? I would say that holding their favourite squishy might be considered a form of provocation, however that is not is what is at issue here. Just going about your ordinary business, were you? Carrying out orders I left but otherwise minding your own business and relaxing?"

"Yes, my Lord Starscream." Barricade said.

"Barricade, you may not be aware of this, but I have visual and audio sensors in every one of the cells. You never know when an enemy may do or say something that may later prove useful. I have reviewed those files, and although I cannot explain how or why it happened, they tell me that the Seeker sat here on top of this hangar started the day as the human Sam Witwicky."

Starscream seemed to tire of hovering in the air, he tilted and flew towards the hangar and landed on the other side of the roof, ten or so feet from where Sam was sat, and took a step towards him.

Immediately Bumblebee and Mikaela rose into the air and sped towards Sam, landing between he and Starscream, their postures defensive. A moment later, Skywarp and Thundercracker dropped to a landing behind Starscream, their postures equally tense.

Starscream glanced back at his trinemates, who relaxed, and Starscream them held up one hand, palm out and fingers open, towards the three other fliers.

"I mean none within your trine harm. Have you picked out a trine leader?"

Mikaela and Bumblebee briefly glanced at each other, and seemed to come to an agreement over that glance.

"That would be Sam," Bumblebee stated. Mikaela nodded in assent.

"Huh?" Sam answered, looking up.

Starscream crouched, to bring his optics to more of a level with Sam's own, looking across the feet separating them.

"Wingleader Sam, I give you my word on the Sparks of myself and my trine that I will not harm you or yours. Will you give me the same assurance and allow me to approach?"

Sam appeared to recover his composure, and the gravity of the pledge Starscream had taken was not lost on him, for he nodded.

"Uh, yeah, I give you my word on the Sparks of myself and my trine that we won't attack you unless you attack us," Sam stated, stumbling slightly with the unfamiliar words and formal phrasing. He looked at Mikaela and Bumblebee.

"Back off, guys," he said, and Bumblebee and Mikaela stepped back. Starscream nodded, then spread his arms out a little from his sides and inclined his head, and Thundercracker and Skywarp followed suit.

"A formal respect gesture, Sam, one Seeker to another," Starscream said. "Perhaps we can talk as one mech to another, on an equal footing."

He approached, crouched by Sam, and slowly extended a hand to touch Sam's cheek lightly. His hand moved down to touch the patch over Sam's injured wing, then brushed the sealant around the cockpit, and his optics flashed in anger.

"Who did this to you? The images from the cell showed no such injuries."

"Wreckage, under orders from Barricade," Sam said. "He told Wreckage to take my wings and my cockpit. He said I would be 'grounded' and left to go insane."

"I will hear both sides of this. We'll fly down and speak faceplate to faceplate with all involved," Starscream said, standing. He looked at Sam. "Together, to indicate to the groundlings that you are under my protection, at least for the duration of our talks." He looked at Sam expectantly, and Sam realised Starscream was waiting for him to stand.

"Um, Starscream, I don't know how to use my legs _or_ my wings," Sam said. "Bumblebee and Mikaela will have to carry me, I'm afraid."

"That won't do, it will give an impression of weakness and we don't _want_ that, especially not in front of groundlings," Starscream said, dropping to a crouch. He pulled out a length of data transfer cable from his wrist.

"Here, I can teach you to fly and stand, your trine mates can balance you." He leaned forwards and before Sam could say yes or no, plugged the cord in at the base of Sam's helm.

The data flowed into Sam's processors, stilling the unborn protests on his dermaplates. Understanding dawned in his optics, and Sam nodded, as Starscream disconnected and put away his transfer cable.

Mikaela helped Sam stand, then Starscream move to his injured side, putting an arm around Sam's waist and taking some of the weight of Sam's body.

"You don't want to strain that wing, even if this _is_ a short downwards flight," he said. Sam nodded. "Now, it's a leap up and a controlled descent using mainly our low-level thrusters." he said.

Sam and Starscream jumped down together, as planned, and the other four jumped down to stand behind their respective trine-heads, Bumblebee and Mikaela taking their cues from Thundercracker and Skywarp.

"Barricade, come here and listen to me," Starscream ordered. Barricade got up and moved over to stand before the Air Commander, not sparing Sam a second glance.

"Now, as I recall, I told you to let Sam rest until the morning. You stated that the Autobots attacked unprovoked, during the hours of darkness while you were going about your business. However, the spy-eyes in the cell tell me that you came and took Sam from his cell before morning. So, not only did you disobey a direct order from me, you then _lied_ about it to me. Do you take me for a fool, Barricade?" Starscream said, his armour expanding out from his body, his vents speeding up, his optics flashing.

"I'm a Decepticon. Lying is part of what I do, you should _know_ that," Barricade replied.

"I still expect orders to be _obeyed_, Barricade. I'm the Decepticon leader. You disobeyed my orders." He looked at the healing scratches somebody had inflicted upon Barricade." However, I trust there is one thing you have all learned about Seekers: if you plan to take one on, be prepared to take on their Trine, they will defend each other, a trine-bond is a strong bond." He nodded to Barricade. "And be aware of inter-trine alliances and bonds."

"Such as?" Barricade sneered. "Apart from the other Autobot trine, there are no others to worry about. They are only Autobots, why should they matter?"

"They are _Seekers_!" Starscream snapped. "Factions aside, I am closer to _them_ than I am to _you_, they are almost kin. I will show you, Barricade what I mean, because I believe these three may hold the beginnings of hope for both of our sides." He moved over to Sam, reached up with his claws to scratch his own left wing enough to draw energon.

"Sam, will you agree to an energon bond of wing-kinship? An alliance of our two trines? If so, scratch your own left wing, as you can see that I have done."

Sam nodded: he thought he could see where Starscream was going, and it would be a pleasure to add to the snub Starscream was giving to Barricade. Reaching up, he scratched his wing as requested. The warm, pink energon welled up, and Starscream stepped over, his arm circling under Sam's arm to settle on his back, as he pressed against Sam, pressing the two scored wings together so that the energon from the injuries mixed.

"By this action, we are linked, one trine to the other by the energon of its leaders. If one trine requires aid, the other will give it. If one trine is destroyed, the other will attempt to avenge it, if any one member is threatened, the members of both trines will respond to that threat and neutralise it, if necessary." He turned away, towards the black and white frontliner.

"Barricade: Sam's trine and mine are now wing-kin. Any further attack by you off the battlefield against them will mean you will face me and my trinemates. You are fortunate that this bond was not active when you ordered Wreckage to ground Sam: for_ that_, I would be justified in tearing your Spark from your body. You…have been _warned_." He turned away from Barricade.

"Wreckage? I need to speak with you."

"Sir?" asked the white and grey tank, bearing signs of his attack by the Seekers.

"You were not here when I gave instructions that Sam was not to be severely harmed or killed, nor were you here to hear the order that he was to be left until morning. Although not at all blameless, you carry the least blame in this matter, as you were following orders given you by a superior officer, not knowing those orders were in direct contradiction to my own. In future, I'm ordering you: before you do anything to a prisoner, you confirm that I have okayed the order. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir," Wreckage replied. Starscream turned from him.

"Where are Payload and Dropkick?" he asked.

"Over here," replied Freefall. "I'm just repairing their optics."

"I am pleased we have a medic in our midst: perhaps you could give us all a general check once you have treated the injured?" Starscream asked. "I give you a limited asylum: for the duration of your stay and for two hours after leaving my base boundaries, you will not be attacked by any of my Decepticons: all I ask is that you do not attack any of my men."

"I can speak for myself, and I accept. I imagine my trine mates will agree, but I am not the trine-leader. Dawnstreaker?" he called, comming her Starscream's request. She nodded.

"Accepted: no hostilities for the duration of our stay and two hours beyond," she agreed. "I have contacted Optimus to let him know what is happening, but not given him details. He has agreed to a ceasefire for the duration of our absence."

Starscream nodded, approaching where Freefall was treating the injured: he watched as the medic carefully inserted an optic into a socket. He really wanted to punish Barricade severely but realised that in this situation, with all the Seekers on the ground, three of them new to their wings and one who had never flown, it could be dangerous to push Barricade too hard. If Barricade felt cornered, the frontliner would push back, and though Starscream was confident _he_ could get out of the way in time, it was _Sam_ he was most concerned for. No, he'd have to be lenient on him, at least this time, despite the severity of what he had done.

"Payload, Dropkick, you too disobeyed orders along with Barricade. You will both pull double patrol for the next three orns, Barricade will do the same for the following four orns. No appeal, no reprieve, but that is the end of the matter," He paused. "Unless Sam's trine-mates feel you need further punishing by themselves, which is their right if that is what they wish?"

"No," Bumblebee said. "Sam is alive and safe, that's what matters now. Revenge would be counter-productive." Mikaela shook her head also.

"What he said," she replied.

"Good, then that is settled. Sam, Mikaela, Bumblebee, and any of Dawnstreaker's trine who wish to rest should follow me," he said, indicating the door to the hangar.

"I'll join you when I've finished treating the wounded," Freefall said. Dawnstreaker and Runway indicated they would join the other six in retreating to the hangar: Barricade and Wreckage queued up with Scorponok to be seen by the medic. Starscream nodded, and touched Sam's arm.

"Wingleader Sam, we need to talk," he said as the eight Seekers headed into the hangar. There was enough room, Starscream figured, for them all to fit in the main hall, and they could fit three to a room for recharging purposes.

"What about?" asked Sam, as they entered. Starscream took them into the hall, where various chunks of plastic, foam and polystyrene, mostly packaging for mechanical and white goods, had been scattered for sitting or lying on. They sat, and Starscream took one of Sam's hands in one of his, touching the healing scratches Sam had inflicted on his own wing with the other.

"About survival, Sam, survival of my trine. I'm invoking the wing-kin bond, Sam, because we need your help."


	7. Chapter 7

Seekers Come In Threes.

Chapter Seven.

"What do you mean, survival, Starscream? "Sam asked. "The Autobots don't want to destroy you, and I'm not sure the humans can, especially if you stay away from them."

"Sam, we are all dangerously low on fuel. Barricade can only get so much from the police pound for the other groundlings, and getting aircraft fuel is _very_ difficult as the bases communicate between each other. If we do not give a valid authorisation code, they fire on us. After today's excursion, we only have enough fuel for three more flights each. Once that fuel is gone, that's it, no more flying for us."

"You'll be grounded?" Sam asked. Starscream nodded, and Sam could see the fear in his optics.

"You cannot understand what it's like Sam, you're newly a Seeker, you will not yet have felt the compulsion to fly after too long on the ground, the sky-hunger that pulls at you. You've never had to watch a Seeker, wing-ruined or trapped underground for too long, descend into insanity. This insanity can result in the grounded one trying to tear wings off another Seeker for themselves, even if their own wings are intact, in the misguided impression that someone else's wings can grant them flight. Others attempt self-immolation, or will attack anyone in range to take their mind off the gnawing _need_, the hunger that never ends, of the need to fly. I understand, Sam that you may not be able to get us any fuel, although I am sure you will try. If you cannot, please, Sam, do one thing for us: kill us before we go too mad, it really is the kindest thing to do."

Sam stared at Starscream: Skywarp and Thundercracker had huddled close to the Decepticon leader, and the three were now clasping hands and stroking each other's faces in an attempt to calm each other. Sam hadn't seen much interaction between the Command Trine, but something told him that _this_ level of agitation was not normal.

"Mikaela and I have full tanks. Can we give you some of the fuel we have?" Bumblebee asked.

"Freefall will have a siphoning tube: we can _all_ contribute," Runway stated, and Dawnstreaker nodded. Sam did a brief check, guiltily realising that he himself had no fuel in his own tank, and thus could not contribute. He was running on nothing more than the energy of his Spark: when it was time to go back, he would need to be carried.

"I will speak to Optimus about giving you fuel, although we all know this is only a temporary solution, and I will try and find a more permanent solution." Sam said. "i give you my word, Starscream, that I will use any means at my disposal to get fuel for you, and if that fails, I will carry out the request you made earlier," Sam promised, although he was determined that he would never need to keep that promise.

"May I make a suggestion?" asked Dawnstreaker. Everybody turned to look at her.

"I believe that none of our new Seekers have had the opportunity to use their wings in a non-dangerous and non-urgent situation," she said. "If you three were to go up with them and assist us in helping them get used to their wings and just generally enjoying being in the air, you would be within your rights to requests more fuel to replace that which you have expended in teaching them. We would be honour-bound to provide it, and if I know our Ratchet, he would _expect_ us to allow you to fill your tanks to max capacity."

Starscream looked at her, his optics glowing with gratitude.

"That would give us…maybe six or eight flights apiece, which would certainly be appreciated. Maybe we could continue helping you to train your new Trine?"

"Why yes, as wing-kin, we would appreciate that, and we would be happy to replace the fuel you use and in fact give back more than used in gratitude to you for helping us learn to use our skills effectively," Sam said, getting what Dawnstreaker was angling at. "Of course, it is a temporary situation, but who knows what else you might find to do afterwards? I am sure the human military - and maybe human millionaires - would pay for the services only you can provide."

"Us - serve _humans_?" Starscream asked, disgust colouring his vocal tone.

"No, not _serve_, provide a service, which they will pay you for, there _is_ a difference," Sam explained. "Think about it - the Military want to train pilots to anticipate attacks and plan flight alterations, to be able to respond swiftly in a millisecond. What better opponent to send against them to hone their flying skills than you, a fast, manoeuvrable and intelligent jet that can react faster than any human pilot? If they train against you, think how quick they will be to react to a human plane and pilot, who will, by virtue of being drone plus pilot, be slower than you, the pilot will need to punch in commands and then perform them, while you will just be able to do it. If the American Air Force pilots train against _you_, their opponents will seem slow by comparison next to your swift and manoeuvrable self. That will give them an advantage against other humans."

Starscream could not help but preen at the praise Sam lavished on him.

"Perhaps," he said, almost dismissively. "It is something to think about. What about these 'millionaires' you speak of?"

"Well, millionaires are humans with a lot of money, and many of them _would_ pay for the privilege of being able to fly in a military craft, such as your alt. The Military do not provide that service, no matter how much money these people are willing to pay, because of the spying risk. You, however, _could_ offer it, and believe me, these people would happily pay."

"_I _would be the one flying, not _them_," Starscream said loftily.

"Which only opens up the possibility to more people, not restricts it," Sam explained coaxingly. "As well as the fact you would stop spies poking about in your internals, or any attempts to steal you, there are some humans who due to physical or mental constraints can_not_ learn to fly. Those humans would get a chance of a flight in an aircraft they would otherwise miss out on, and again, they would _pay_ for the privilege."

"Well, I'm making no promises. Sam, when that medic gets back here, we'll see if he can fix your wing and cockpit in a more permanent manner. Then we can get ourselves ready to take what humans call 'the scenic route' to the Autobot base. You can use the time to use and hone your flying skills." Sam took Starscream's dismissal as a sign that the subject, for now at least, was closed, but he saw a briefly thoughtful look cross the Decepticon leader's face, and Sam hoped he'd at least given Starscream something to think about. After all, Seekers were Sparked to fly, he'd picked that much up from the data Starscream had given him. Surely the idea of doing what he loved, being fuelled up _and_ then _paid_ for the privilege would appeal to him?

It was over an hour later before Freefall joined them in the hangar.

"Well, all those who needed to be treated have been treated," he said.

"Is there any chance you could help repair Sam enough to enable him to fly?" Starscream asked.

"Well, now Sam can lie down without risk of attack, certainly," Freefall stated. "I'll work on re-attaching the canopy first, then on fixing his wing."

He rummaged about in his subspace, and took out his medical tools and various pieces of paraphernalia. "Ah, I knew I had some somewhere." he said, laying his hands on a packet.

"What are they?" Sam asked.

"Canopy hinges, your original ones look slagged to one of the seven Pits." Freefall said. He lay Sam on his back and opened a panel.

"Now I _am_ going to take your sensor network totally offline, Sam. You will only be able to move clumsily, and feel not at all, so do _try_ to keep still."

Starscream watched as Freefall used a tool to dissolve the sealant, and then carefully cleaned the canopy and cockpit edges and replaced the destroyed hinge mechanism with a similar one. Freefall then got Sam to sit up, and removed the patch from his wing. Sam heard Starscream grind his dentaplates as he saw the deep, cauterised incision.

"You say Barricade ordered this? For what reason?" he asked.

"Um, he said I had committed criminal acts, in killing Megatron, destroying the AllSpark - which he termed "delayed genocide and…" Sam tailed off, aware that he had possibly said too much already.

"And?" Starscream asked.

"It doesn't matter, it's not important." Sam said.

"Please, Sam, tell me. Barricade himself has done equally bad things. Murder, genocide? Barricade is guilty of _both_ and more than once," he said. "It was something to do with the way you are now, isn't it?

"Well, he said becoming an arrogant Seeker was a crime too," Sam stated.

Starscream's vents clicked up in anger. "Like you could control what the AllSpark did to you, the form it chose to gift you with? Add to the fact that _you_ are now effectively the AllSpark, he has committed a great crime himself." Starscream stood, "I was unduly lenient on him earlier, something I shall now rectify! I shall duel him, and tear the Spark from his frame as justice for you, Sam."

"NO!" Sam shouted. Starscream looked surprised.

"He has shown disloyalty to me, and disrespect to you. He has ordered a great harm to be done to your person, Sam. Do you not wish him punished for that?"

"You_ have _punished him, and maybe your leniency will make him think? He sees you as an arrogant Seeker, perhaps he will realise that you _can_ be fair and just as well, by sparing him. Go after him now when you have not previously said you'll kill him for it, will only confirm his negative view of you, and maybe confirm it to the other grounders."

Sam knew he was babbling, but did not care. "Whatever you want to do, Starscream, I am in no state to stop you, but I ask you to consider what you are proposing. Also, as I do _not_ approve of this course of action, Starscream, you are _not_ to do it in _my _name!"

There was silence after Sam's statement, the only sound in the room was nine sets of Seeker vents turning in the hangar's confines. Then Starscream sat back down.

"Very well, Sam, I will follow your advice and let him be. However, what would you suggest I do if he attacks you again?"

"Then you _can_ attack and kill him, if I don't repel his attack myself, for you _have_ now warned him that you will react in that way." Sam said.

"Only, however, if _we_ leave anything of him for you to deal with," Mikaela interjected.

"Of course, you would have first rights on that." Starscream acknowledged to her.

Freefall bent to carefully closing the incision with flyer-grade duralloy, again from his subspace. He paused, looking up from his repairs.

"Once Sam has had some flight practice, when we get back, I'll see if I can persuade Ratchet to free up some of that lethal high-grade he brews," he said. "I think we'd _all_ appreciate a bit."

"As the humans would say, amen to that," said Starscream.


	8. Chapter 8

Seekers Come in Threes.

Chapter Eight.

A/N: Flight terms taken from Wikipedia: their explanations are better than mine as they had i_llustrations_...:)

Freefall got out his siphoning pipe, and helped with the fuel allocation, making sure that between them, all nine Seekers ended up with enough fuel to fly. Then each group broke into three groups, one member of each trine per group. Sam was with Dawnstreaker and Starscream, Bumblebee with Thundercracker and Freefall, and Mikaela was with Skywarp and Runway.

Even then, though, they did not fly: each of the two more experienced Seekers guided their new student in a thorough examination and awareness of their new bodies.

"Remember, Sam, not only are you far larger than you used to be but you are composed of many different parts," Starscream said to him. "Your body is designed to fly, both in your bipedal mode and in your disguise-form: the technical term for the disguise form, by the way, is alternative mode, which is often shortened merely to alt-mode, or just alt."

"Okay," Sam said.

"Now most flying is done on instinct, but it is helpful in the beginning to know what each part is, and what it does, whether it is necessary for flight or not, and in what way." The Decepticon leader continued. "On your head are two curving ridges, yes, put your hands up to feel them but be gentle, they are sensitive," he cautioned as Sam did just that. "Those are your sensor arrays, it's always a good idea to keep those active at all times when flying, unless localised weather would make the readings useless or, worse, disorientating. At first you will find it hard but after a time it will become second nature to you." He moved behind Sam, and flinched in surprise as he felt Starscream's hands very gently take hold of the thin projections on his back.

"These are your tail fins, in jet form they are stabilisers, their angle helps with being stealthy, with airflow, and with stability. Another thing, Sam: you will find your plating is very sensitive, its surface has lots of sensors in it, it _needs_ to in order to feel the airflow over your body. Again, interpreting the readings it gives you will be difficult at first, but again you will soon process them automatically." Starscream and Dawnstreaker both began taking it in turns to point out, or where necessary, touch, various parts of Sam's body and explain what they were and what they did, and Sam committed the information given to memory. The two tutoring Bumblebee and the other two teaching Mikaela did much the same with them.

Once the tutors had finished on that, they got their respective student to transform into alt mode and repeated the process on their jet-forms. Once that had finished, they all went back into bipedal mode.

"Okay, we will soon be talking you back to the Autobot base," Starscream said. "Usually that would take no more than thirty human minutes, however this time in this case we will be teaching you the finer points of flying and associated skills, so it will probably take almost a joor – that's about six and a half human hours – today. Some of it will be difficult, some may get boring and repetitive, but practice is _essential_. Now, we must do our pre-flight checks, again it will soon be something you end up doing as routine before every flight, and then we'll inform your base of our estimated time of arrival. or E.T.A, and then we will set off."

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

To avoid drawing too much unnecessary attention, most of their training was undertaken in alt form. Dawnstreaker and Starscream had the three new Seekers each fly separately, flanking them for a short distance at first, low to the ground and relatively slowly, so that any crashes that might occur would not be damaging.

Sam was concerned that he might be the one to show himself up, after all, the other two had previously taken wing to find him, but he was relieved when he didn't. All three of them were none too steady however, and they flew back and forth to get used to stabilising and balancing, banking, taking off, and landing so often that it _did_ start getting boring for Sam, but even he had to admit that by the time they risked trying it in robot form as well, they all wavered and wobbled a lot less than when they had before.

Then it was back into jet form where they practiced flying as a trine, to get used to flying in a group and learn how much clearance they needed from each other.

"Flying as a unit needs to be as easy to a trine as flying as an individual, as it may become necessary to do either, or both, in combat situations or otherwise." Starscream explained. "At other times, you may find it necessary to fly with others who are not of your trine, if a unit is needed and one or more of your trine is, for some reason, unable to fly." With that, he got them all to land, got Sam to fly in formation with Skywarp and Thundercracker, and Dawnstreaker to head an arrowhead formation, with Bumblebee and Mikaela as the bottom points of the arrow.

In the end, he had them all fly in formations with different members each time, then taught them how to fly as three trines in formation, and then as one large diamond-shaped formation. Sam, Mikaela, and Bumblebee were all feeling the strain, and were relieved when Freefall reminded Starscream just how new to their wings and bodies the new trine were, and demanded they all take a thirty-minute rest.

"I don't think I've ever worked so hard in my life." Sam said to Starscream as they sat down. "Is all this really necessary?"

"You have to be ready for any eventuality, Sam," Starscream said, as Dawnstreaker nodded. "You've done well, you are all learning quickly, but more to the point, your wobble is down. Controlling your roll, pitch, and yaw is becoming natural, which is important."

"Our what, what, and _what_?" Sam asked. Starscream chuckled.

"I forget you're not used to the terms." He said. Your roll is the angle of your wings in relation to the horizon, assuming you're flying level. Imagine as a human, lying on your front and rolling on to your back, that is roll, rolling sideways, it is actually a manoeuvre that can be used in flight too, but it needs to be controlled so it doesn't end in an uncontrolled spin and a crash."

"Okay." Sam said, visualising it.

"Pitch is whether you are parallel to the horizon, or nose-up tail-down, or nose-down tail-up," Starscream explained. "Yaw is left to right rotation of your nose and tail." Sam looked confused so Starscream searched for and found an appropriate metaphor. "Like the arrow or decoration on a weather vane. It sways left or right around a central vertical pivot. Yaw is your movement around an imaginary central vertical pivot." He moved his hand to illustrate each movement.

"Okay, got it." Sam said. "In other words we're not weaving up and down, tipping from side to side, or flying in a wiggly line." Starscream chuckled again.

"Yes, that's another way to put it." He admitted.

"I know you've found this boring, but hopefully we can concentrate on manoeuvres and what might be termed 'aerobatics' once you've rested." he said. "I think you'll find that a little more entertaining than flying from A to B and back again either on your own or with others, although you will be practicing these manoeuvres singly and in groups as well."

"Yes, it does sound more interesting." Sam admitted, looking forward to it. Mikaela and Bumblebee were also sitting close enough to hear, and both agreed vocally.

"I can see the necessity, but flying back and bloody forth for the last three hours is bloody _boring_. Sorry, but it _is_," Mikaela said.

"Then we are agreed?" asked Dawnstreaker as she wandered over. "Once we finish resting, we practice the aerial manoeuvres."

Sam, Mikaela and Bumblebee were quick to give their assent.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

As promised, they started practicing how to move through the three dimensions available to the flying types once the half-hour was over. They started simply, with rolling and looping the loop both in alt and bipedal forms, gradually working up first to more difficult moves singly, then adding a new level of difficulty by doing it in their trines, in formation. This time they stuck to their own trines only.

"We can practice swapping flying partners later." Starscream explained. "We're running out of time, your base will be expecting us in one human hour, so we'll stop for now and arrange another training session when we get to your base and have rested." He nodded to Dawnstreaker, who landed with her trine: Sam made to follow with his, but Starscream stopped them.

"Wait a moment, Sam." he said. "We will have a training mission devoted solely to fighting, but we can use ranged weapons in a prearranged location, and to learn fighting with grounders will require some grounders willing to allow us to play a little rough. The best form of defence in most cases, especially against grounders who will usually only be able to fire at you, is the manoeuvres I have taught you, which are good for fleeing ranged and melee attacks. Melee attacks, of course, will mainly be conducted against or by grounders if you get knocked to the ground and cannot, for whatever reason, get airborne quickly enough, or at all."

Starscream and his trine flew upwards, and Sam and his trine followed. Starscream turned to face Sam again at this point.

"There is another situation in which melee attacks may need to be used, excepting the circumstances in which your trine found themselves in today. In-flight melee is mainly instinctive, so the best way to practice this is through experience."

That was the only warning Sam and the others got before Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp launched themselves at the three new Seekers, scratching and clawing at them.


	9. Chapter 9

Seekers Come In Threes.

Epilogue.

Sam yelled as the Decepticon leader grabbed at him and slashed across his chest with one hand and scored one of his wings with the other. He could hear Mikaela and Bumblebee's cries of alarm, hear engines roaring and metal screeching, and feel pain over the trine-bond. Sam lashed out blindly, clawing and kicking, and then twisting and rolling and turning mid-air, to try and escape from the unexpected attack Starscream had launched on him. The possibility briefly flashed into Sam's mind that perhaps Starscream had been grounded a bit too long in the past, perhaps he was already insane, it could explain the unprovoked attack.

He was briefly aware as he tried to get his bearings that Dawnstreaker's trine was still on the ground. He couldn't understand it, they too were Autobot Seekers, why were they not coming to his and his trine's aid? Did the wing-kin bond between his and Starscream's trine forbid Dawnstreaker's trine from interfering due to some obscure Seeker custom or manners involving infighting between those so bonded? Sam realised that there was still much about the Seeker mindset and customs he had yet to learn.

Sam's sensors told him that Starscream was right behind him: he executed a half-turn in a hairpin bend, heading down, and felt the wind of passage of Starscream's claws as the latter took another swipe at Sam. That had been close, too close, and Sam rolled and twisted, glad for the aerobatic training they had practiced earlier. He was intending to take a retaliatory slash at Starscream's underbelly, partly through instinct and partly in the hope it might startle Starscream back to normality, but found the other Seeker already halfway through a turn that would put him back in melee range.

He had not realised how manoeuvrable Starscream was until then, and he was frighteningly fast. Starscream feinted down, but as Sam swerved to avoid, the Decepticon leader actually launched himself up. As Sam twisted back, he felt the Seeker land atop him, loop his arms around his wings, felt Starscream's claw-tips pressed lightly to the underside of, and very lightly score, the wings. Then he let Sam go, dropping down beside him, looking entirely relaxed: the sounds of combat and the pain from his trine-mates over the bond, faded.

"You need to move and fight at the same time, Sam, attack and defence combined," Starscream said. "Not bad for a novice though, I have the advantage of experience and Academy teaching, but you're a quick study: with practice you will get better." Sam took a quick glance around and saw that Mikaela and Bumblebee too were no longer engaged in fights, before the meaning of Starscream's words hit him.

"Wait, wait, wait, you mean that was a _training exercise_?"

"Well, of course it was," Starscream said. "We are wing-kin, why would we attack you? Do you _really_ think Dawnstreaker and her trine would have stayed down and let us attack if we hadn't warned them it was for training?"

"Well, warning _us_ would have been appreciated, you know?" Sam said sourly.

"Enemy fliers _won't_ give a warning, Sam. Of course, they are likely to shoot at you as soon as they get in range, rather than engage you in hand-to-hand, but still," Starscream pointed out, rather smugly, Sam thought.

Sam touched the scores and winced. "That bloody _hurt_," He saw pink on his finger. "And I think I'm bleeding."

"They're only surface scratches, they'll be self-repaired in a couple of breems." Starscream said.

"Breems?" asked Mikaela who had, with Bumblebee, flown over to hear the conversation. Both she and Bumblebee were also scratched but Sam noticed that their scratches too were shallow.

"A breem is about eight or nine human minutes." Bumblebee explained. "So, they'll self-repair within twenty minutes or so."

Starscream waved, and Dawnstreaker, Freefall and Runway flew up to meet them.

"Let's head for your base shall we?" Starscream suggested. "Oh, and by the way, tell them to keep those twin nuisances away from us, at least till we've landed, would you?"

"Certainly," chuckled Dawnstreaker.

They all decided that was the best course of action, and once the call had been made and assurances given that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe wouldn't be practicing jet-judo on any of them, they all flew towards the Autobot base.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

As they all transformed and landed in front of the Autobot Base, a slightly wide-opticked Ironhide, who had likely never seen so many non-hostile Seekers in one place since the war had started, opened the gates for them. Ratchet came out to greet them, quickly scanned them all, and then realising any further investigations would likely be treading on Freefall's own medic-toes, invited them all to come and refuel. He talked to Sam, asking him what had happened, while he and Freefall commed a conversation spattered with medical jargon between them.

Optimus walked in midway through the refuelling session, took one look, and stopped, his own optics widening.

"I was under the impression that this was a medical bay, overnight it seems to have become a temporary air base," he said, looking at all the brightly-coloured wings clustered around the fuel station. The slight smile on his face belied the serious tone of his voice. "Perhaps someone could explain what this is all about?"

Ratchet gave him a slightly bemused look.

"The moment I know the full story myself, Prime, I'll be sure to let you know."

A/N: There will likely be a sequel to this, and it will be slashy, so, depending on your views on slash, consider yourself either informed or warned.


End file.
